Russian Enclosure Questions

[PeanutbuttER]

Coastal is a member here. Here's a link to the powersuns he sells http://coastalsilkworms.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=36_39_44&products_id=153 $40 for the 100w, though I don't know how much shipping runs.

Truthfully, both of those tubs look small to me. How big of a tort you're planning on adopting?

 

[abra]

Thanks, and I'm not sure yet. I might have some totes in the basement that I can hose down before winter or something, I'll ask my mom.

Here's what I was thinking for my set up, a tote with play sand/coconut coir substrate. With that lamp, what else should I put in it? Like toys and stuff? One of those half logs? Some rocks? Anything special? Should I make a humid hide out or whatever? I just want my baby to be happy

 

[Torty Mom]

I would try to stay away from sand, IMHO, I use cyress much and coconut coir. I have a log hide on the warmer side and a little plastic tub, with a door cut out on the cooler side. I have shiny rocks down the center, for her to climb and explore. I tried to plant a pansy, but she attacked it! Check out the enclosure thread there are some great picture on there!!!

 

[abra]

okay thanks!

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would one of these work?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...y?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053[hr]
or more like this?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053#specs

 

[Yvonne G]

All of those are too small for an adult tortoise. You need a big floor space, not tall sides. The book case is your best bet. And you can probably buy a used one pretty cheap...cheaper than a new tote.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

You would also need to cap the corners, that means put a piece of wood across the top of the corners because Russians are great escape artists and they use one side of the corner for their backs and they scoot up the other side of the corner using their feet. So you need to nail a piece of wood across the top of the corner. You didn't say how old your new tort is, but if it's a yearling or older you don't need any heat at night, if it's a hatchling I would use a black light bulb at night and you can get them at Kmart. That's just my personal opinion, others may have a different opinion...

Thanks a lot, I'm still not sure on where I'm getting my Russian from but it will probably be an adult because I'm a beginner. So I'll do that One last thing, I want to get this bulb:

http://www.tortoisesupply.com/products/Powersun-Mercury-Vapor-Bulb.html

Is that good? And should I get 100W or 160W?

That's a good bulb, get the 100 watt...

 

[abra]

All of those are too small for an adult tortoise. You need a big floor space, not tall sides. The book case is your best bet. And you can probably buy a used one pretty cheap...cheaper than a new tote.

Okay, I have an under-the-bed tote thats really long but it's too short so I guess I'll go look for one online or in a store. Thanks!

 

[Floof]

Enclosure size: Bookcases can work well for the not-so-handyperson. I would recommend a 5 shelf bookcase, though, as a 3 shelf is going to be a bit too small for an adult Russian. The 5 shelves are 6 ft tall and 2 ft wide, giving you 12 square feet of space for the tort to roam. Here's an example... I made this "tort table" out of a 5 shelf bookcase from Big Lots, lined it with a heavy duty brown tarp (stapled the tarp in with a staple gun), and used top soil for substrate. That's a 5.5" SCL Russian on the left side, and one of the shelves fitted into the top of the right side (had to drill new holes for the pegs so it would be high enough).

If I were to do it over again, I would go with one of the Mainstay's bookcases from Walmart. They're deeper, so allow for more substrate. The only downfall with them is the middle shelf is fixed in, so you would have to cut a doorway in it. Also, a good idea is to get a sheet of plywood (about 6'x2') to replace the backing of the bookcase with, because the backing on the bookcase is incredibly flimsy.

Both Walmart's and Big Lot's 5-shelf bookcases are only $30, by the way. An easy, inexpensive solution to give your tortoise a nice, spacious enclosure.

On lighting, it depends on how bright your room is, but I found, at least in my case, that I needed a second fluorescent light over the end opposite of the heat because, otherwise, it was too dark. Of course, turn lights off at night. The best thing you can do is get a timer, and set it so the lights are on for 14 hours a day (i.e 7 AM to 9 PM) and off for the other 10.

As for nighttime, for an adult Russian, cool temps (in the 60s) are tolerable. I seem to remember, even, reading that a significant nighttime drop in temps is beneficial for adult Russians (could swear I'd read it here, even), but I could be mistaken on it. The point is, if your tort isn't a hatchling and your room doesn't drop below 60 at night, you don't need to worry about nighttime heat.

For substrate, plain top soil, no additives, worked fine for my pair. However, burrows didn't hold. The idea behind adding sand to the soil is so it holds humidity and burrows better. I don't know if this is true, but sand also has the downsides of making the substrate stick very easily to the tortoise's face, etc, as well as presenting an impaction risk (which is only made worse by its tendency to stick to everything, and therefore get in the way very easily at feeding time).

For the light bulb, an MVB will give you your UVB lighting as well as your heat all in one bulb. MegaRay and T-Rex Active UVHeat are regarded as the best brands, but Powersun is also a pretty good one. Depending on how cool your room is during the day, you may need a higher wattage. A 100 watt Powersun is roughly the equivalent of a 60-75 watt incandescent household bulb in heat output. I would recommend holding off on the MVB and testing the enclosure with incandescent bulbs in the same fixture and at the same height and angle as you'll have your MVB first. Once you figure out if you need a higher wattage or if a lower wattage bulb suffices to get your basking spot in the upper 90s from a height of 12-18 inches with the bulb facing straight down, you can order your MVB. 100 watts if you only need a low watt household bulb to get to the desired temperature, or 160 if you need a higher wattage (i.e. 100 watt). Or, if you want to order the MVB first, play it safe and get the 100 watt. You can add a second heat lamp or CHE later on if the MVB doesn't keep the temps up high enough by itself.

Something you need to know about MVBs!! I mentioned this in your other thread, but it's worth saying again. Mercury vapor bulbs need to be pointed straight down, with the face of the bulb parallel with the substrate. Having the bulb at an angle will shorten the bulb's lifespan and potentially cause health problems for your tortoise--most notably eye problems, and problems that stem from that. The easiest way to fix this is to get a lamp stand from ZooMed and a heat lamp (i.e. the Deep Dome fixture) that has a built-in hanger loop instead of a clamp. In any case, never, ever put yourself in a position where you have to mount your MVB at an angle!! If you ever find yourself in a situation where it's that or nothing, replace the MVB with a plain incandescent until you can fix the lighting situation. Angled MVBs are dangerous.

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Oh, I missed where you're looking at plastic enclosure options. About the largest commonly available plastic tote is a Christmas Tree Storage Tub, about $25-30 at Walmart and the like. They don't supply a great amount of space (roughly 4x1.5 ft, or 6 sq ft), but they certainly do the job, are inexpensive, and are tall enough for you to have a good substrate level (about 14-16", if I remember right).

Another option, though not nearly as inexpensive, would be stock tanks from a feed store. You can get metal stock tanks that don't look too bad and are quite spacious; they come in 4, 6, and 8 ft lengths, of course are water proof (designed to hold water for livestock), and more than deep enough to allow a nice, deep substrate. If you take a look through the Enclosures section, there are quite a few people here on the forum who use them with success.

 

[abra]

Thanks guys, my dad found a super sale at Petco with and enclosure and some stuff for like $42. It was originally $180 so it's pretty amazing So I got a normal terrarium and some cheap bulbs and substrate, my sister's like a co-owner with me so shes gonna help me buy better substrate and bulbs. So, I pretty much wanted to say thanks a lot! Rambo thanks you too